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USC

Clay Helton began his weekly teleconference on Sunday evening by acknowledging one of USC’s characteristics of the early season. “You’re very, very happy again when you see a team finishing in the fourth quarter,” said Helton, the Trojans’ coach, “That’s kind of been our hallmark.” The Trojans have either trailed or been tied in the fourth quarter in three of their four games this month, including their 30-20 victory over...

USC

LOS ANGELES >> It has been a recent phenomenon. In three of USC’s past four victories, stretching to last January’s Rose Bowl win, its offense has been forced to overcome late deficits. Against Penn State? The Trojans trailed by 14 points entering the fourth quarter. In this season’s opener against Western Michigan? They fell behind by a touchdown in the third quarter. Last Saturday against Texas? They were down by three points, before...

USC

LOS ANGELES >> There was a lot of extra work going on at USC after Tuesday’s practice. Quarterback Sam Darnold threw passes to a quartet of wide receivers. Offensive coordinator Tee Martin worked with a group of receivers in a corner of the field. One would almost think the Trojans dropped some passes against Texas. “It seemed like they took turns dropping the ball,” Martin said. Three games into the season, the wide receiver situation is...

|on 09/19/2017

USC

Texas stood 3 yards from the goal line, poised to score its second touchdown of overtime, when USC’s defense made a stop. A quarterback draw sent Sam Ehlinger, the Longhorns’ freshman passer, running up the middle. Ehlinger attempted to sneak into the end zone behind his offensive line, looking for a final push. Instead, a defensive lineman, Christian Rector, reached with his right arm to rip the ball loose. The ball sputtered out and rolled back a few yards on the...

USC

LOS ANGELES >> There are times you can argue a mannequin standing on a sideline would do less damage than a coach. Especially at USC. It’s the best possible answer to explain how an elite Trojans team could be pushed to the limit by a Texas team forced to start a true freshman backup quarterback Saturday at the Coliseum. There were several glaring decisions that explained why the Trojans were hamstrung by their staff and needed some good fortune to escape with a...

|on 09/16/2017

USC

LOS ANGELES >> Vince Young had an entire fourth to make his magic. Sam Darnold had 39 seconds … and no timeouts. USC’s sophomore quarterback led the Trojans back from the brink of disaster Saturday, engineering a tying drive in the closing minute of regulation, allowing his team to survive Texas in two overtimes, 27-24. The tying points at the end of fourth quarter and winning points at the end of the second overtime were supplied by freshman kicker...

USC

LOS ANGELES >> USC and Texas have a flair for the dramatics. In the teams’ first meeting since dueling for the national championship 12 seasons ago in a Rose Bowl classic, considered one of the greatest games in college football history, the rematch came down to the final moments on Saturday night and to the leg of a freshman walk-on. In double overtime, Chase McGrath hit a 43-yard field goal, lifting fourth-ranked USC to a dramatic 27-24 victory over...

USC

LOS ANGELES >> Porter Gustin, USC’s junior outside linebacker, had surgery on Wednesday to have two screws implanted in a fracture in his big toe. Gustin, as a result, did not practice during the week before the Trojans hosted Texas. Coach Clay Helton never ruled out Gustin, but never expressed much optimism that he would play Saturday night. “He is Superman, we’ll see if it happens, but I’m more optimistic about next week,” Helton...

USC

LOS ANGELES>> When the College Football Playoff selection committee passed over Big Ten champion Penn State last December in favor of Ohio State for one of the four bids, Kirby Hocutt, its chairman, pointed to one prominent reason: the Buckeyes’ marquee nonconference victory. In September of last year, Ohio State routed then 14th-ranked Oklahoma. When he explained the decision, Hocutt said, “the selection committee respects that kind of...